Resource track

Scope

This MELBA Resource track is dedicated to resources that can facilitate i) reproducible research within the field of biomedical imaging and ii) fair benchmarking of machine learning algorithms.

MELBA Resource publications are articles systematically describing publicly available resources, such as i) research datasets and ii) open-source software tools, that reside at the intersection of biomedical imaging and machine learning.

Our aim is to enhance the sharing and reuse of resources, encourage their broader dissemination and repurposing, as well as acknowledge those who contribute by sharing.

Format of Resources

The sections of a MELBA Resource manuscript that potential submissions should include are:

Submission Considerations

MELBA Resource publications are intended to supplement conventional research publications. The release of MELBA Resource articles will not be regarded as diminishing the originality of subsequent MELBA manuscript submissions. Authors are encouraged to consult with editors from other journals to ensure that the publication of a MELBA Resource does not compromise the submission of related research articles to those journals.

Authors may also submit a MELBA Resource manuscript detailing data/tools previously made publicly available or analysed in prior research articles, provided there is no existing publication specifically describing the resource. In case of an existing publication, a new publication might be submitted only if it significantly enhances the resource's reuse potential or presents a substantial extension of the previously published resource.

Any pre-existing publication, or manuscript under consideration or in press at any journal, relevant to the MELBA Resource article must be mentioned and explicitly cited in the submitted manuscript, as well as discussed in the accompanying cover letter.

Authors submitting a MELBA Resource manuscript are required to deposit their data/tools in a suitable external public repository to ensure the discoverability, utility, reproducibility, and reusability of the resource. Sole use of a personal or institutional website is not considered adequate. Authors should furnish their materials at a level that facilitates broad utility, encompassing both computed or curated data and observed (source) data.

Should the resource not be publicly accessible at the time of submitting a MELBA Resource manuscript, authors are required to furnish secure links and/or passcodes. This allows the editorial team and reviewers to confidentially access and assess the data. Authors are advised against providing personal login details and are not allowed to track individual logins that would compromise the anonymous reviewer evaluation. The editorial team and reviewers commit to treating the manuscript and its associated data/tools with strict confidentiality, utilizing them solely for the purpose of manuscript evaluation prior to publication.

In the event that the data/tools are not accessible at the original repository, authors are obligated to upload the data to another repository and issue an update to the original MELBA Resource article. If the authors fail to respond accordingly, the editorial team reserves the right to retract the publication.

MELBA maintains the right to decline a Resource article post-acceptance, if significant issues with the scientific content or violations of our publishing policies emerge.

Public Repositories

The MELBA Resource expectations for the repository of the data/tools should enable the long-term preservation and public access to the uploaded data/tools, without paywalls, and support open licenses (such as CC-BY). Example repositories are: